Dynamically initiating changes to a connectivity configuration by a user device

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments provide a user device that dynamically initiates a change to its connectivity configuration. Some embodiments of the user device determine its current connectivity configuration and, based upon its current connectivity configuration, obtains one or more metrics associated with its current operating environment and/or current operating configuration. In turn, the user devices analyzes the metrics to determine whether to alter its current connectivity configuration. Responsive to the analysis, some embodiments modify the current connectivity configuration by modifying a connection type to a wireless networking device.

BACKGROUND

Wireless networking devices, such as access points, provide user deviceswith access to a wired network. To connect with the wired network, auser device establishes a wireless connection to the wireless networkingdevice. When the wireless networking device supports multiple differentwireless connection types, multiple user devices can simultaneouslyconnect to the wireless networking device via different wirelessconnection types. However, variations between user devices (e.g.,operating environments, active applications, locations, etc.) can affectthe efficiency of how well data transfers over a respective wirelessconnection relative to different wireless connection types. As an addedcomplexity, these variations associated with a user device candynamically change over the lifespan of a wireless connection. Thus, theconnection type used to wirelessly connect a user device to a wirelessnetworking device may not utilize the wireless networking device to itsfull potential, or address the changing needs of a respective userdevice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments for dynamically altering wireless connection types in awireless local area network (Wi-Fi) environment are described withreference to the following Figures. The same numbers may be usedthroughout to reference like features and components that are shown inthe Figures:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example operating environment in accordance withone or more embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example wireless networking device in accordancewith one or more embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates non-limiting examples of a user device with inaccordance with one or more embodiments;

FIGS. 4a and 4b illustrate two-dimensional transmission patterns inaccordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates various operating regions and/or ranges in accordancewith one or more embodiments;

FIGS. 6a and 6b illustrate example operating environments in whichwireless connections between multiple user devices and a wirelessnetworking device are dynamically altered in accordance with one or moreembodiments;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram that illustrates operations of dynamicallyinitiating alterations to wireless connection types by a wirelessnetworking device in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram that illustrates example operations ofprioritizing user devices for a beam-formed wireless connection inaccordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram that illustrates example operations ofdynamically reconfiguration a connectivity configuration associated witha wireless networking device in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram that illustrates operations of dynamicallyinitiating alterations to a wireless connection type by a user device inaccordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 11 illustrates various components of an example device that canimplement various embodiments; and

FIG. 12 illustrates various components of an example device that canimplement various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Overview

Various embodiments provide dynamic alterations to a connectivityconfiguration associated with a wireless networking device. The wirelessnetworking device maintains multiple wireless connections with multipleuser devices using a combination of beam-formed wireless signals andomnidirectional wireless signals. The wireless network device generatesa list of connected or associated user devices that are capable ofbeam-formed wireless communications, and obtains metrics for eachrespective user device. Among other things, the metrics identify acurrent operating environment and/or operating performance associatedwith the respective user device. The wireless networking deviceprioritizes the list based upon the respective metrics, and determineswhether a current connectivity configuration differs from theprioritization. In some embodiments, the wireless networking devicegoverns the prioritization using a delay or hysteresis to avoidextraneous reconfigurations as further described herein. Responsive todetermining a difference, the wireless networking device can dynamicallyreconfigure the connectivity configuration by altering a connection typeassociated with at least one user device.

Alternately or additionally, in at least some embodiments, a user devicedynamically initiates a change to its connectivity configuration. Someembodiments of the user device determine its current connectivityconfiguration and, based upon its current connectivity configuration,obtains one or more metrics associated with its current operatingenvironment and/or current operating configuration. In turn, the userdevices analyzes the metrics to determine whether to alter its currentconnectivity configuration. Responsive to the analysis, some embodimentsmodify the current connectivity configuration by modifying a connectiontype to a wireless networking device.

The various embodiments described herein provide dynamic reconfigurationof wireless connections between a wireless networking device and userdevices. When initiated by the wireless networking device, the wirelessnetworking device can reconfigure the connection types for optimaldistribution of its corresponding resources. In other words, thereconfiguration sets up the connection types to a configuration that hasthe best potential of utilizing the resources of the wireless networkingdevice based upon the operating parameters of the various connectedand/or associated user devices. For example, the wireless networkingdevice can switch a first user device from a beam-formed wirelessconnection to an omnidirectional wireless connection signal if therespective metrics of the first user device indicate it may not use thebeam-formed wireless connection to its full potential level. In turn,the wireless networking device can then redirect resources (e.g., thebeam-formed wireless connection) to a second user device whose metricsindicate it is more likely to use the beam-formed signal connection tocapacity and/or a satisfactory level. While the wireless networkingdevice dynamically reconfigures the connection types to an optimalconfiguration, in real-world implementations, the actual distribution ofresources may not reach its full (and optimal) potential.

Similarly, a user device can reconfigure its connection type to awireless networking device as a way to preserve its associatedresources. For instance, the user device can initiate a change from abeam-formed signal connection with a wireless networking device to anomnidirectional signal connection to preserve its battery life, orinitiate a change from an omnidirectional signal connection to abeam-formed signal connection to support data-heavy applications. Insome embodiments, a user can prioritize when the changes occur, asfurther described herein. Thus, user device initiated changes to itsconnectivity configuration and/or connection type allows the user devicemore control over how it operates which, in turn, allows the user deviceto determine how to use and/or preserve its corresponding resources.

While features and concepts for dynamic connectivity configuration of awireless network device and/or a user device can be implemented in anynumber of different devices, systems, environments, and/orconfigurations, example embodiments of dynamic reconfiguration ofwireless connections are described in the context of the followingexample devices, systems, and methods.

Example Operating Environment

FIG. 1 illustrates example environment 100 according to one or moreembodiments. Environment 100 includes wireless networking device 102,illustrated here as an access point. Among other things, wirelessnetworking device 102 provides various user devices with connectivityinto a wired network, such as the Internet. In this example, wirelessnetworking device 102 provides connectivity to user device 104(illustrated as a tablet), user device 106 (illustrated as a laptop),and user device 108 (illustrated as a mobile phone). In environment 100,each of the user devices are located within working range of wirelessnetworking device 102. In other words, each user device establishes arespective wireless connection with wireless networking device 102, andsubsequently uses its respective wireless connection to exchange dataand/or information with the wireless networking device. Here, userdevice 104 wirelessly connects with wireless networking device 102 viawireless signals 110 a, user device 106 wirelessly connects withcomputing device via wireless signals 110 b, and user device 108wirelessly connects with wireless networking device 102 via wirelesssignals 110 c. Wireless signals 110 a, wireless signals 110 b, andwireless signals 110 c generally represent two-way communication betweenthe devices, such as transmit and receive signals for each respectivedevice associated with the wireless signal.

Wireless networking device 102 includes an ability to establishdifferent wireless connection types with different user devicessimultaneously, such as beam-formed signal connection types with someuser devices, omnidirectional signal connection types with other userdevices, and so forth. For instance, wireless networking device 102 canuse a first antenna to generate an omnidirectional wireless signal thatvarious user devices utilize to connect to, and exchange data with,wireless networking device 102. Alternately or additionally, wirelessnetworking device 102 can use additional pairs of antennas to generatedirectional wireless signals (using beamforming techniques) to specificuser devices. Here, wireless networking device 102 transmits wirelesssignals 110 a as an omnidirectional wireless signal to establish acommunication path with user device 104, and additionally transmitsbeam-formed (directional) wireless signals 110 b to user device 106, andbeam-formed (directional) wireless signals 110 c to user device 108, toestablish respective communication paths with each user device. However,if, at some later point in time, environment 100 changes and/or theoperating parameters associated with the user devices change, someembodiments of wireless networking device 102 can dynamically initiatechanges to these wireless connections in response to these changes asfurther described herein.

Wireless networking device 102 includes network connectivity managementmodule 112 to manage the various wireless signals and/or wirelessconnection types to external user devices (e.g., wireless signals 110 ato user device 104, wireless signals 110 b to user device 106, etc.). Insome embodiments, networking connectivity management module 112 includesknowledge to implement and/or conform to various control standards, suchas the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11standards corresponding to media access control (MAC) and/or physicallayer (PHY) communication standards. Among other things, networkconnectivity management module 112 can query connected user devicesand/or associated user devices in environment 100 to identify which userdevices are capable of connecting with wireless networking device 102via a beam-formed signal. Here, associated user devices include thosethat are within working range of wireless networking device 102, buthave not yet established an authorized wireless communication path withthe wireless networking device as further described herein. Afteridentifying which user devices are capable of supporting beam-formedcommunications, network connectivity management module 112 can directbeam-formed signals to specific user devices. The beam-formed signalscan be directed to a specific user device in any suitable manner (e.g.,randomly, a first-to-connect manner, priority based, etc.).

Some embodiments of network connectivity management module 112 determinerespective metrics about each user device to identify an operatingenvironment and/or respective operating parameters of environment 100.In turn, network connectivity management module 112 prioritizes the userdevices based upon the metrics to identify which user devices wouldbetter utilize a beam-formed signal connection relative to other userdevices. In other words, network connectivity management module 112identifies the user devices with an operating environment and/oroperating configuration that would better utilize the resourcesassociated with the beam-formed signal connection relative to other userdevices. Network connectivity management module 112 can then analyze thecurrent connectivity configuration of the wireless networking device(e.g., which user devices are connected via beamforming and which userdevices are connected via an omnidirectional signal) to determine if itmatches and/or aligns with the prioritized list. If the currentconnectivity configuration differs from the prioritized list of userdevices, some embodiments of network connectivity management module 112initiate and/or dynamically reconfigure individual wireless connectionsof selected user devices to align the current connectivity configurationwith the prioritized. In other words, network connectivity managementmodule 112 modifies the current connectivity configuration to align withthe prioritized list so that the user devices connected to the wirelessnetworking device via beamforming techniques are the user devicesidentified as having the highest priority in the prioritized list. Thiscan include disconnecting a first user device from a beam-formedwireless connection, reconnecting to the first user device using anomnidirectional wireless signal, and then redirecting the beam-formedwireless connection to a second user device as further described here.

In a similar manner, user device 108 includes user connectivitymanagement module 114. Here, user connectivity management module 114monitors an operating state and/or an operating environment associatedwith user device 108 by analyzing various metrics associated with userdevice. In turn, user connectivity management module 114 manages theconnectivity configuration and/or connection type of user device 108that is used to communicate with wireless networking device 102. Forinstance, user connectivity management module 114 can monitor a batterylevel of user device 108 (e.g., percentage of power left) to identifywhen it drops below a predefined threshold. When the battery level dropsbelow the threshold, user connectivity management module 114 caninitiate a change to switch user device 108 from using a beam-formedsignal connection (e.g., wireless signals 110 c) to using anomnidirectional signal connection (e.g., wireless signals 110 a) as away to conserve battery power. While described in the context of asingle metric (e.g., battery level), some embodiments manage theconnectivity configuration based upon multiple metrics as furtherdescribed herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates an expanded view of wireless networking device 102 ofFIG. 1, while FIG. 3 illustrates an expanded view of user device 108with various non-limiting examples: smart phone 108-1, laptop 108-2,display 108-3, desktop personal computer (PC) 108-4, tablet 108-5, andcamera 108-6. In some embodiments, wireless networking device 102 anduser device 108 have similar components. Accordingly, for the purposesof brevity, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 will be described together. Componentsassociated with FIG. 2 will be identified as components having a namingconvention of “2XX”, while components associated with FIG. 3 will beidentified as components having a naming convention of “3XX”.Conversely, components distinct to each device will be describedseparately and after the similar components

Among other things, wireless networking device 102/user device 108includes processor(s) 202/processor(s) 302 and computer-readable media204/computer-readable media 304. In this example, computer-readablemedia 204/computer-readable media 304 includes memory media 206/memorymedia 306 and storage media 208/storage media 308. Applications and/oran operating system (not shown) embodied as computer-readableinstructions on computer-readable media 204/computer-readable media 304are executable by processor(s) 202/processor(s) 302 to provide some, orall, of the functionalities described herein. For example, variousembodiments can access an operating system module and/or softwaredrivers, which provide high-level access to underlying hardwarefunctionality by obscuring implementation details from a callingprogram, such as protocol messaging, register configuration, memoryaccess, and so forth. In turn, various applications can invokefunctionality provided by the operating system module and/or softwaredrivers to access functionality provided by corresponding hardware.

Computer-readable media 204 includes network connectivity managementmodule 112. Similarly, computer-readable media 304 includes userconnectivity management module 114. While network connectivitymanagement module 112 is illustrated here as residing oncomputer-readable media 204, and user connectivity management module isillustrated here as residing on computer-readable media 304, each canalternately or additionally be implemented using hardware, firmware,software, or any combination thereof.

Wireless networking device 102/user device 108 also include antennas210/antennas 310 and transceiver hardware 212/transceiver hardware 312.Antennas 210/antennas 310 work in concert with transceiver hardware212/transceiver hardware 312 to enable wireless networking device102/user device 108 to transmit and receive wireless signals. Forinstance, antennas 210/antennas 310 receive electrical signals generatedby transceiver hardware 212/transceiver hardware 312, and propagatecorresponding electromagnetic waves in free-space. Similarly, antennas210/antennas 310 receive or detect electromagnetic waves propagating infree space, and convert these waves into corresponding electricalsignals that are then routed and processed via transceiver hardware212/transceiver hardware 312. In some embodiments, network connectivitymanagement module 112 controls the configuration of the antennas 210and/or transceiver hardware 212 based upon a prioritized list ofconnected devices as further described herein. Alternately oradditionally, in other embodiments, user connectivity management module114 controls or manages the configuration of antennas 310 and/ortransceiver hardware 312 based upon various metrics associated with userdevice 108.

Having described an example operating environment in which variousembodiments can be utilized, consider now a discussion of signalradiation patterns in accordance with one or more embodiments.

Signal Radiation Patterns

Computing devices today often times include wireless capabilities toconnect with other devices. To communicate information back and forth,the computing devices establish a wireless link between one another thatconforms to predefined protocol and frequency standards. This conformityprovides a mechanism for the devices to synchronize and exchange datavia the wireless signals. A wireless link can be more powerful than awired link in that it provides more freedom to the connecting devices. Adevice can connect wirelessly to any recipient device that supports asame wireless link format without using any additional peripheralcomponents or devices. Not only does this allow the devices to exchangedata, but it provides the additional benefit of mobility by eliminatinga wired connection that physically tethers the communicating device.

Antennas are used to propagate and receive wireless signals. Being aform of electromagnetic radiation, the wireless signals propagatedbetween the respective devices adhere to various wave and particleproperties, such as reflection, refraction, scattering, absorption,polarization, etc. One type of antenna design is a dipole antenna. Adipole antenna includes two components that are usually symmetrical inlength. In a half-wave dipole antenna, each pole has length of λ/4,where λ represents a wavelength corresponding to a frequency at whichthe dipole antenna is resonant. When an antenna is resonant, waves ofcurrent and voltage traveling between the arms of the antenna create astanding wave. Further, the antenna has its lowest impedance at itsresonant frequency, thus simplifying impedance matching between theantenna and transmission lines for transmission or reception. In turn,this affects the power consumption and efficiency of an antenna. Bycareful adjustments to the antenna length, radius, and so forth, adesigner can choose what frequency the corresponding antenna resonatesat. When transmitting, dipole antennas radiate with an omnidirectionalpattern. However, other antenna configurations can be used to transmitomnidirectional patterns as well. One advantage to an omnidirectionalradiation pattern is that it yields comprehensive coverage over a largearea.

Consider FIG. 4a that illustrates a two-dimensional graph 402 that plotsan example omnidirectional radiation pattern 404. Here, theomnidirectional radiation pattern forms a circle of coverage, where thecorresponding antenna radiates an equal amount of energy in alldirections, but real-world implementations can deviate from this due tophysical variations in the implementations. FIG. 4a also includes userdevice 108 of FIG. 1 as the intended target or recipient of radiationpattern 404. In this example, user device 108 has been position in theupper right quadrant of graph 402. However, due to radiation pattern 404having equal amounts of energy in all direction, user device 108 canmove to other quadrants and receive the same signal and/or energy level.This also holds true for other devices that are co-resident within graph402. For instance, consider a case in which a laptop resides in thelower left quadrant of graph 402. Since radiation pattern 404 isomnidirectional, the corresponding wireless signal can service thelaptop as well, although time-slicing of data transmission and/orlogical channels may be used to alternate what information is sent when(e.g., user device 108 is serviced in time slot 1, the lap top in timeslot 2, etc.).

In terms of connecting with other devices, an omnidirectional radiationpattern allows the transmitting device to transmit without having anyinformation on the location of a connecting device, since energy istransmitted equally in all directions. Thus, in terms of wirelessnetworking device 102 of FIG. 1, radiation pattern 404 allows thewireless networking device to transmit in all directions to servicevarious user devices without needing any a priori knowledge of where theuser devices are physically located. As an added benefit, theconstruction of omnidirectional antennas (such as a dipole antenna) areinexpensive to build relative to other antennas. In turn, these costsavings can be passed along to a consumer who wishes to purchase thetransmitting device. An omnidirectional radiation pattern also allowsflexibility in where the transmitting device is located, since thesignal is transmitted in all directions. This can be advantageous to awireless networking device, since they service multiple devicessimultaneously. However, a downside to this approach is that since theantenna transmits energy in all directions, it also receives energy inall directions, thus reducing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which, inturn, can make the communications more prone to errors. Anotherdisadvantage to an omnidirectional radiation pattern is that it may havea shorter projection distance and/or range than other types of antenna.In other words, the signal strength of an omnidirectional radiationpattern can diminish more quickly as the signal radiates outwardly,since energy is being transmitted in all directions. As an alternativeto an omnidirectional transmission pattern, other antennas transmit adirectional signal using beamforming techniques.

Beamforming combines transmissions from multiple antenna to createemission patterns with constructive or destructive interference. Moreparticularly, a controlling element, such as network connectivitymanagement module 112 of FIG. 1, influences the frequency, phase, and/oramplitude of each radio frequency (RF) signal transmitted from arespective antenna to transmit a signal with a selective spatial patternand/or direction. To illustrate, now consider FIG. 4b that illustrates atwo-dimensional graph 406 that plots an example beam-formed radiationpattern 408. As in the case of radiation pattern 404, real-wordimplementations of radiation pattern 408 can vary due to physicalvariations in a corresponding implementation. FIG. 4b also includes userdevice 108 of FIG. 1 positioned in the upper right quadrant of graph406. Here, radiation pattern 408 represents a beam-formed wirelesssignal transmitted in the direction of user device 108. Thus, if userdevice 108 moved from the upper right quadrant to the lower leftquadrant, the connection established with radiation pattern 408 wouldbreak until the beam-formed signal reforms to transmit in a directionassociated with the lower-left quadrant.

Beamforming focuses energy towards a particular direction, which, inturn, increases the power of the corresponding signal since the signalis not dispersed in multiple directions. This can improve thecorresponding SNR and allow the transmitting device to improve datarates (e.g., transmit more data further) and extend how far thetransmitted signal can travel. For example, a user device usingstreaming services for video and/or audio has a constant need for highvolumes of data transfer. To satisfy this request, a wireless networkingdevice, such as an access point, can connect with the user device usinga beam-formed signal, and subsequently transfer the requested data moreefficiently and/or at a higher rate than an omnidirectional signal.While a beam-formed signal can provide improved efficiency relative toother signals and/or radiation patterns, variations in a correspondingenvironment can mask or diminish this improvement.

Consider an example in which a user device is located at close range toa wireless networking device. When connecting to user devices positioneda short distance away, an omnidirectional radiation pattern (transmittedby the wireless networking device) has a high SNR that translates intoimproved data rates relative to mid-range or long-range devices. Thus,at short distances, beam-formed radiation patterns may not provideimproved performance relative to the omnidirectional radiation pattern.Similarly, for user devices positioned at long distances away from thewireless networking device, the beam-formed wireless signal may provideconnectivity to the user device, but with a low data throughput. Thus,while the beam-formed wireless signal can connect to a user device along distance away, its efficiency and/or data throughput is not beingused to its full potential. Accordingly, beamforming can provideconnectivity at various ranges, but the improved efficiency (relative toother radiation patterns) can vary over the different ranges (e.g.,short ranges can be equivalent, long ranges do not provide fullcapacity).

Having described differences between various radiation patterns,consider now a discussion of dynamic connectivity configuration of awireless networking device in accordance with one or more embodiments.

Dynamic Connectivity Configuration of a Wireless Networking Device

A wireless networking device can simultaneously support multipledifferent wireless connection types through the use of multiple antenna.For instance, a first antenna of the wireless networking device can bedirected towards wireless communications using an omnidirectionalradiation pattern, and other antennas can be directed towards wirelesscommunication using beamforming techniques. This allows the wirelessnetworking device to support older (legacy) devices using theomnidirectional antenna, and newer devices using the beamformingtechniques. Thus, by supporting multiple different wireless connectiontypes, the same wireless networking device can support older devices,while providing new technology to newer devices via beamformingtechniques.

Multiple-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) technology, asdescribed with respect to the IEEE 802.11ac standard, is one suchexample. MU-MIMO improves the speed and capacity of data delivered by awireless networking device by using multiple antennas to delivermultiple beam-formed signals simultaneously instead of time-slotting asingle connection (e.g., partitioning the single connection in time toalternate what data goes to which device). However, based upon variouslimitations, the maximum number of antenna available for simultaneousMU-MIMO communications is one less than the number of available antenna.These limitations stem from various conditions the wireless networkingdevice has to fulfill during data transmission, such as controllingareas of maximum constructive interference in order to direct thestrongest signal to a desired client, controlling areas of maximumdestructive interference to reduce signal interference at other devices,and so forth. To illustrate the connections support by MU-MIMO, considera case in which an access point includes four antenna. Based upon thevarious limitations, the access point can maintain three simultaneousMU-MIMO streams (via beamforming), and one omnidirectional signalconnection stream.

While the inclusion of MU-MIMO in a wireless networking device canimprove its data rates and extend its transmission range, there aretimes the connectivity configuration of the wireless networking device(e.g., which user devices connect via beam-formed signals versusomnidirectional signals) fails to optimize the wireless networkingdevice for maximum data throughput in a given operating environment. Forinstance, without applying any preferences or priority to which userdevices connect using beam-formed signal connections, the wirelessnetworking device may connect to user devices unable to use the fullpotential of a beam-formed signal, or user devices that that are equallyserved by omnidirectional signals, when other user devices exist. Thus,the wireless networking device can sometimes have a less-optimalconnectivity configuration that fails to maximize its data throughputcapabilities.

Various embodiments provide dynamic connectivity configuration of awireless networking device. To begin, a wireless networking devicemaintains multiple wireless connections with multiple user devices usinga combination of beam-formed wireless signals and omnidirectionalwireless signals. As the environment around the wireless networkingdevice changes, and/or the operating performance of the associated userdevices changes, the wireless network device can dynamically alter howit connects to the user devices. The wireless networking devicedetermines a current connectivity state that identifies which userdevices are connected using beam-formed signals and omnidirectionalsignals. Next, the wireless networking device generates a list ofconnected and/or associated user devices that are capable of beam-formedwireless communications, and subsequently generates and/or obtainsrespective metrics for each respective user device. The wirelessnetworking device then analyzes the metrics, and generates a prioritizedlist of user devices that are capable of beam-formed communicationsbased upon the respective metrics.

Consider FIG. 5, which illustrates an environment 500 in which awireless networking device uses various metrics to analyze and/orprioritize various user devices. Here, environment 500 includes wirelessnetworking device 102 of FIG. 1, and multiple user devices connected to,or associated with, the wireless networking device: user device 502,user device 504, and user device 506 respectively. In environment 500,wireless networking device 102 partitions environment 500 into threeoperating regions: a short-range region that resides on the inside ofcircle 508, a mid-range region that resides outside of circle 508, andinside circle 510, and a long-range region that resides outside ofcircle 510. While wireless networking device 102 has partitioned theenvironment into three regions, it is to be appreciated that any othernumber of partitions can be utilized as well. Each region (e.g.,short-range, mid-range, long-range) defines a respective space relativeto wireless networking device 102, where the wireless networking devicecharacterizes a respective user device by the region in which itoperates. Thus, some embodiments of wireless networking device 102characterize user device 502 as operating in a short-range operatingregion, user device 504 as operating in a mid-range operating region,and user device 506 as operating in a long-range operating region.

These regions, while illustrated as being circular in nature, can be anysuitable shape or size. Here, the short-range region corresponds to aregion that starts from the wireless networking device to a first outerboundary distance from wireless networking device 102 identified bycircle 508. In turn, the mid-range region extends between the firstouter boundary distance and second outer boundary distance from thewireless networking device as defined by circle 508. Finally, thelong-range region extends outside of the second outer boundary distancedefined by circle 508. Any suitable type of metric can be used to definethe boundaries between regions. For instance, some embodiments definethe regions based upon distance, where the wireless networking devicecan predefine what distance each region covers, and subsequently measurea particular user device's distance (and identify its operating region)using round-trip-time (RTT) information. However, other metrics and/orprotocols can be used to define these regions and/or measure a userdevice's distance, such as those described with respect to IEEE 802.11.

Consider a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) that provides ameasurement of signal power present in a received signal. The wirelessnetworking device can use an RSSI measurement of a connected and/orassociated user device to identify how close that user device is to thewireless networking device and/or an operating region associated withthe user device. For instance, a strong RSSI can be used to determinethat the user device is operating within a short-range region, where thewireless networking device uses a predefined threshold value to identifyand/or define a strong RSSI (e.g., strong RSSI values fall above thepredefined threshold value). For instance, the wireless networkingdevice can compare each respective RSSI value to a predefined thresholdas a way to identify a corresponding operating region of the respectiveuser device (e.g., a short-range operating region). In a similar manner,a weak RSSI indicates the particular user device is further away fromthe wireless networking device and operating in a long-rangerange/region, where a second predefined threshold value defines a weakRSSI signal (e.g., weak RSSI values fall below the second predeterminedthreshold value). In turn, the mid-range range/region corresponds toRSSI values that fall in a range between strong RSSI values and weakRSSI values. Thus, some embodiments characterize user device 502 asoperating in a short-range region based upon its corresponding RSSIvalue.

By identifying a region in which a user device operates, wirelessnetworking device 102 can prioritize which user devices haveconfigurations and/or operating environments that will use more of theresources associated with a beam-formed communication relative to otheruser devices, such as bandwidth and/or data transfer. Recall fromfurther discussions provide herein that, relative to omnidirectionalsignals, the data transfer efficiency provided by beam-formed signalsvaries over the different ranges (e.g., short ranges can be equivalent,long ranges do not provide full capacity). Accordingly, some embodimentsof wireless networking device 102 prioritize user devices operating inshort-range regions and/or long-range regions lower than user devicesoperating in mid-range regions. Consider user device 502 that has beencharacterized as operating in short-range of wireless networking device102. Since wireless networking device 102 considers user device 502 asoperating in short-range, wireless networking device 102 gives it alower priority relative to user device 504. Similarly, since wirelessnetworking device 102 has characterized user device 506 as operating inlong-range, it prioritizes user device 506 lower than user device 504 aswell. Thus, in environment 500, user device 504 has the highest priorityrelative to the other user devices to connect to wireless networkingdevice 102 via beam-formed signals. However, other parameters caninfluence how a wireless networking device prioritizes which userdevices to connect to using beam-formed wireless signals.

Consider prioritization based upon a Quality-of-Service (QoS). Someaspects of QoS refer to a level or quality of service provided by acorresponding network. For example, QoS allows a network to prioritizedifferent applications, user devices and so forth within the network inorder to meet various conditions or demands. Wireless MultiMedia (WMM)provides a form of QoS in a Wi-Fi network by prioritizing data trafficbased upon four categories: voice data, video data, best effort data,and background data. A Wi-Fi network using WMM prioritization makes theWi-Fi network suitable for applications such as Voice-over InternetProtocol (VoIP) since the prioritization places greater emphasis onvoice data and video data, which, in turn, alleviates glitches and/ordropped calls. Some embodiments of a wireless networking devicedetermine which user devices to provide a beam-formed signal connectionbased upon the applications a user device may be running and/or WMMprioritizations. Thus, user devices running applications with higherprioritization and/or bandwidth needs, such as a VoIP application, maybe given higher priority than other user devices.

As another example, a wireless networking device can determine whichuser devices to provide beam-formed signal connections based upon alevel of interference at the user device. Consider a case where thewireless networking device identifies a first user device operating in amid-range region and running an application with a high WMMprioritization. Based upon these metrics, the wireless networking devicedetermines to provide the first user device with a beam-formed wirelessconnection. However, during the connection, the wireless networkingdevice then receives Bit Error Rate (BER) and/or Packet Error Rate (PER)information from the first user device that indicates it is unable tosupport an expected throughput due to interference from an overlappingbeam from another wireless networking device. For instance, the BERand/or PER information may fall below a predefined threshold. Inresponse to this information, the wireless networking device canreprioritize the first user device to a lower priority, and subsequentlylook for a second user device with metrics that indicates it can supportthe expected throughput. Upon finding the second user device, thewireless networking device removes the first user device from thebeam-form connection, and reestablishes a connection with the first userdevice using an omnidirectional wireless signal. In turn, the wirelessnetworking device establishes a beam-formed signal connection with thesecond user device, thus dynamically reconfiguring its connectivityconfiguration to a more optimal configuration.

Some embodiments of the wireless networking device govern theprioritization process using a delay or hysteresis. In other words, thewireless networking device may prioritize the user devices in such a waythat it identifies changes to make to its connectivity configuration,but delays making the changes to avoid any thrash or sudden reversals inthe connectivity configuration. For instance, consider an example inwhich there are temporary anomalies or changes in the operating state ofa user device. If the wireless networking device detects these temporaryanomalies, it may change the connectivity configuration based on thecorresponding (instantaneous) metrics. Here, the phrase “temporaryanomalies” is used to denote a change in state or operating that occursfor a short time-period such that once the corresponding modificationsare made to the connectivity configuration of the wireless networkingdevice, the anomaly completes or disappears, and the changes to theconnectivity configuration no longer provide an optimal configuration.Thus, temporary anomalies can cause thrash in the connectivityconfiguration such that the wireless networking device spends more timereconfiguring its connectivity configuration than servicing the userdevices. Accordingly, some embodiments apply a delay or hysteresis toidentify and/or detect temporary anomalies in an operating state toavoid unnecessary and/or temporary changes. This can be achieved in anysuitable manner, such as through the use of a predefined time delay.When a change is identified, the wireless networking device can wait fora time-period corresponding the predefined time delay, and verify theidentified change has settled and/or is in a same state beforeinitiating changes to the corresponding connectivity configuration.

Consider now FIGS. 6a and 6b that illustrate an environment. Here, FIG.6a illustrates environment 600 at a first point in time, where awireless networking device uses a first connectivity configuration, andFIG. 6b illustrates environment 600 at a second point in time, where thewireless networking device uses a second connectivity configuration.FIGS. 6a and 6b each include wireless networking device 102 of FIG. 1,and various mobile devices, labeled here as user device 602 a, userdevice 602 b, user device 602 c, and user device 602 d, respectively.

In FIG. 6a , wireless networking device 102 transmits an omnidirectionalsignal 604, which is used by user device 602 a and user device 602 b toconnect with wireless networking device. Wireless networking device 102also, and simultaneously, transmits a first beam-formed signal 606 touser device 602 c, and a second beam-formed signal 608 to user device602 d. For simplicity's sake, these wireless signals (e.g.,omnidirectional signal 604, beam-formed signal 606, and beam-formedsignal 608) are illustrated as generally radiating from wirelessnetworking device 102, but it is to be appreciated that varyingcombinations of antennas are used to generate these signals as furtherdescribed herein. The determination to use beam-formed signalconnections with user device 602 c and user device 602 d can beperformed in any suitable manner, such as by a prioritization based uponmetrics (e.g., a range or distance, a QoS metric and/or prioritization,an RSSI metric, and so forth).

When a user device supports multiple wireless configurations (e.g., bothomnidirectional wireless signals and beam-formed wireless signals), thewireless networking device can dynamically switch its connection type tothe user device. For example, assume, for discussion purposes, that userdevice 602 b supports both beam-formed communications andomnidirectional communications. However, in FIG. 6a , wirelessnetworking device 102 assigns user device 602 b a lower priority thanuser device 602 d and user device 602 c for various reasons.Subsequently, user device 602 b connects to wireless networking device102 via omnidirectional signal 604, since the beam-formed signals aredirected to the higher priority user devices. In other words, eventhough user device 602 b supports beam-formed communications, itspriority for beam-formed communications in FIG. 6a is lower than otheruser devices, so it subsequently connects and/or communicates withwireless networking device 102 using omnidirectional signals.

Continuing on, now consider user device 602 d of FIG. 6a . Here, userdevice 602 d is running an application that has data consumption needsassociated with a WMM priority of Best Effort (BE). Based upon thismetric, wireless networking device 102 assigns user device 602 d ahigher priority than user device 602 b. In turn, wireless networkingdevice 102 connects to, and/or communicated with, user device 602 d viabeam-formed signal 608. However, changes in the environment can initiatechanges to the connectivity configuration of the wireless networkingdevice as further described herein.

FIG. 6b illustrates a change the operating environment around wirelessnetworking device 102, such as a change in operating configurationsassociated with user device 602 b and user device 602 d. Here, userdevice 602 b has initiated an application associated with VOice (VO)data streaming. Since WMM prioritizes VO data higher than BE data, userdevice 602 b now has higher priority than user device 602 d. In turn,wireless networking device 102 identifies this change occurring, andmodifies its connectivity configuration based upon these changes. Whiledescribed in the context of a change in application priorities (based onWMM prioritization), other types of changes in the operating environmentcan occur as well, such as new user devices connecting to wirelessnetworking device 102, user devices disconnecting from wirelessnetworking device 102, user devices moving locations, changes in RSSIvalues, and so forth.

Changes to an operating environment and/or a user device configurationcan be identified in any suitable manner. In some embodiments, thewireless networking device periodically queries the MAC layer forinformation obtained from the user devices. For instance, IEEE 802.11provides mechanisms that gather and/or obtain information associatedwith the user device's operating configuration and/or operatingenvironment during communication exchanges. In turn, the wirelessnetworking device can query the MAC layer for this information.Alternately or additionally, the wireless networking device receives(asynchronous) incoming messages with an indication of a change (e.g.,connection request, disconnect request, RSSI update, etc.), or receivesmetric information as data embedded in a data packet. In turn, and/orresponsive to identifying that a change in the operating environment hasoccurred, the wireless networking device obtains and/or analyzes themetrics to generate a prioritized list of connected and/or associateduser devices, and whether its current wireless connectivityconfiguration supports the current prioritization. If the currentwireless connectivity configuration does not align and/or differs inprioritization from the current prioritization, the wireless networkingdevice can dynamically reconfigure its wireless connectivity to optimizeand/or improve data throughput.

Accordingly, in FIG. 6b , wireless networking device 102 identifies userdevice 602 b as a first user device to disconnect a beam-formed signalfrom, and subsequently disconnects beam-formed signal 608 from userdevice 602 b. In turn, wireless networking device 102 identifies userdevice 602 b as a second user device to connect to using a beam-formedwireless signal, and subsequently redirects the corresponding resourcesto user device 602 b via beam-formed signal 610. Here, wirelessnetworking device forms a new beam-formed signal 610, but in otherembodiments, the resources can be redirected to an existing beam-formedsignal, such as beam-formed signal 606. Prior to connecting with userdevice 602 b via beam-formed signal 610, wireless networking device 102first disconnects user device 602 d from beam-formed signal 608 of FIG.6a , and establishes a new connection with user device 602 d viaomnidirectional signal 604. In turn, wireless networking device 102 thendisconnects user device 602 b from omnidirectional signal 604, andreconnects with user device 602 b using beam-formed signal 610. Thus,the ability to dynamically modify its connectivity configuration (bymodifying various connection types to user devices) allows wirelessnetworking device 102 to respond to changes in its operating environmentand/or the user devices it is currently supporting. This further allowswireless networking device 102 to reconfigure its environments in orderto establish connections more likely to utilize its associatedresources. As further described herein, these wireless signals (e.g.,omnidirectional signal 604, beam-formed signal 606, and beam-formedsignal 610) are illustrated as generally radiating from wirelessnetworking device 102 for simplicity's sake.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example method 700 that dynamically reconfigures awireless networking device in accordance with one or more embodiments.Generally, any services, components, modules, methods, and/or operationsdescribed herein can be implemented using software, firmware, hardware(e.g., fixed logic circuitry), manual processing, or any combinationthereof. For instance, method 700 can be performed by networkconnectivity management module 112 of FIG. 1. Some operations of theexample methods may be described in the general context of executableinstructions stored on computer-readable storage memory that is localand/or remote to a computer processing system, and implementations caninclude software applications, programs, functions, and the like.Alternately or in addition, any of the functionality described hereincan be performed, at least in part, by any combination of hardware,software and/or firmware. While method 700 illustrates steps in aparticular order, it is to be appreciated that any specific order orhierarchy of the steps described here is used to illustrate an exampleof a sample approach. Other approaches may be used that rearrange theordering of these steps. Thus, the order steps described here may berearranged, and the illustrated ordering of these steps is not intendedto be limiting.

At block 702, a wireless networking device determines a currentconnectivity configuration associated with the wireless networkingdevice. Some embodiments identify all connected user devices regardlessof how they are connected. For example, when the wireless networkingdevice supports multiple connection types (e.g., beam-formed signalconnections and omnidirectional signal connections), the wirelessnetworking device identifies a total number of connected user devicesthat includes user devices using beam-formed signal connections and userdevices using omnidirectional signal connections. Alternately oradditionally, the wireless networking device can identify associateduser devices that are within working range, but have not yet establisheda wireless communication link with the wireless networking device. Forexample, as part of the IEEE 802.11 standards, there are threeauthentication states that can be assigned to a user device: 1) notauthenticated or associated, 2) authenticated but not associated, and 3)authenticated and associated. In order to bridge a connection to thewireless networking device, a user device must be authenticated andassociated. As part of the authentication and association process, thewireless networking device and user device exchange a series ofmanagement frames, such as a probe request. The user device can send aprobe request to advertise its presence to the wireless networkingdevice. In turn, the wireless networking device can extract informationfrom the probe request to determine the user device's capabilities(e.g., beamforming capabilities) and identify associated user devices.According, in some embodiments, the wireless networking deviceidentifies a respective connection type associated with each connecteduser device and/or associated user devices.

At block 704, the wireless networking device generates a list of userdevices capable of beam-formed signal connections. As further describedherein, a user device can support both omnidirectional and beam-formedsignal connections to a wireless networking device. Thus, even though auser device may be connected to the wireless networking device via anomnidirectional signal, it may additionally support a beam-formedwireless connection. Here, the wireless networking device generates alist of user devices capable of beam-formed signal connections,regardless of how they currently connect to, or associated with, thewireless networking device.

At block 706, the wireless networking device prioritizes the list ofuser devices capable of beam-formed signal connections. In someembodiments, the wireless networking device obtains respective metricsfor each user device on the list of user devices, and prioritizes thelist based upon the metrics. The wireless networking device can obtainmetrics in any suitable manner, such as by periodically querying forinformation (e.g., querying its MAC layer), by checking the WMM priorityof the user devices, by receiving asynchronous information from a userdevice, by monitoring user device performance (e.g., BER, PER), and soforth. The wireless networking device can then prioritize the list basedupon one or more of the metrics. When the wireless networking deviceuses multiple metrics to prioritize the list of user devices, someembodiments weight each metric to give some of the metrics a higherpriority or more importance than other metrics. Here, the prioritizedlist identifies which user devices have priority to a beam-formed signalconnection over other user devices. An example implementation ofprioritizing a list of user devices can be seen in FIG. 8.

At block 708, the wireless networking device determines whether tochange the current connectivity configuration associated with thewireless networking device. Here, the wireless networking devicecompares the prioritized list to the current connectivity to determinewhether there are user devices that that would better utilize abeam-formed signal connection than those currently connected to thewireless networking device via a beam-formed signal connection.Alternately or additionally, the wireless networking device can apply adelay and/or hysteresis to determine whether to change the currentconnectivity configuration. If the wireless networking device determinesthat its current connectivity configuration aligns with the prioritizedlist and/or is in a settled state, then the method proceeds to block 710and uses the current connectivity configuration. In turn, the methodreturns to block 702 to continue monitoring the current connectivityconfiguration to identify and/or determine when new changes haveoccurred. However, if the wireless networking device determines tochange the current connectivity configuration, it proceeds to block 712to dynamically reconfigure its current connectivity configuration.

At block 712, the wireless networking device dynamically reconfiguresthe current connectivity configuration based on the prioritized list.For instance, consider a scenario in which a new user device attempts toconnect to the wireless networking device. Based upon an analysis of thecorresponding metrics, the wireless networking determines that the newuser device has a higher priority for a beam-formed signal connectionthan another user device that is currently connected to the wirelessnetworking device via a beam-formed signal connection. Recall fromdiscussion provide herein that the wireless networking device has afinite number of beam-formed signal connections it can support basedupon its associated number of antennas. In such a scenario, the wirelessnetworking device can reconfigure its connectivity configuration toconnect with the new user device via a beam-formed signal connection byfirst disconnecting the other user device, and redirecting thebeamforming resources to the new user device. An example of dynamicallyreconfiguring a current connectivity configuration can be seen in FIG.9. Upon reconfiguring the connectivity configuration, the method returnsto block 702 to continue monitoring the current connectivityconfiguration to identify and/or determine when new changes haveoccurred.

FIG. 8 illustrates example operations that correspond to an expandedview of block 706 of FIG. 7. In this example, the wireless networkingdevice reprioritizes a list of user devices by assigning each respectiveuser device to a corresponding operating region. It is to be appreciatedthat FIG. 8 illustrates an example implementation of block 706 fordiscussion purposes, and that the wireless networking device canreprioritize a list of user devices using other methods withoutdeparting from the scope of the claimed subject matter

At block 802, the wireless networking device uses a first predefinedthreshold to define a short-range operating region. The first predefinedthreshold can be associated with any suitable metric, such as an RSSIvalue, a distance value, and so forth. In some embodiments, user devicemetrics that fall at and/or below the first predefined threshold areconsidered to be operating in the short-range operating region

At block 804, the wireless networking device uses the first predefinedthreshold and a second predefined threshold to define a mid-rangeoperating region. Here, the second predefined threshold corresponds to asame unit type as that used for the first predefined threshold. Thus, ifthe first predefined threshold corresponds to an RSSI value, then thesecond predefine threshold corresponds to an RSSI value as well. In someembodiments, user device metrics that fall at and/or above the firstpredefined threshold and below the second predefined threshold areconsidered to be operating in the mid-range operating region.

At block 806, the wireless networking device uses the second predefinedthreshold to define a long-range operating region. In some embodiments,user device metrics that fall at and/or above the second predefinedthreshold are considered to be operating in the long-range operatingregion. It is to be appreciated that if a user device is considered tobe operating in the long-range operating region (or other operatingregions) if its corresponding metric is at the second predefinedthreshold, then the definition for a mid-range operating region arecorresponding metrics that only fall below the second predefinedthreshold (and not at the second predefined threshold).

At block 808, the wireless networking device classifies each respectiveuser device of the list of user devices as being in one of: theshort-range operating region, the mid-range operating region, or thelong-range operating region. For instance, in the example where thepredefined thresholds correspond to an RSSI value, the wirelessnetworking device compares the respective RSSI value for each respectiveuser device to the first predefined threshold and/or the secondpredefined threshold. In turn, depending upon whether the respectiveRSSI value falls below, at, or above one of the predefined thresholds,the wireless networking device classifies the respective user deviceinto a corresponding operating region.

At block 810, the wireless networking device prioritizes each userdevices classified as operating in the mid-range operating region with ahigher priority than user devices classified in other operating regions.In some embodiments, when the wireless networking devices classifiesmultiple user devices as operating in the mid-range operating region,the wireless networking device can use additional metrics to prioritizewhich user devices operating in the mid-range operating region havehigher priority than other user devices operating in the mid-rangeoperating region. Accordingly, some embodiments can use multiple metricsto prioritize user devices based upon their corresponding operatingregions.

Consider now FIG. 9 that includes an example flow diagram thatcorresponds to an expanded view of block 712 of FIG. 7. In this example,the wireless networking device reconfigures its current connectivityconfiguration by redirecting its resources from one user device to asecond user device. It is to be appreciated that FIG. 9 describes anexample implementation of block 712 for discussion purposes, and thatthe connectivity configuration associated with a wireless networkingdevice can be reconfigured using other methods without departing fromthe scope of the claimed subject matter.

At block 902, the wireless networking device identifies a first userdevice to disconnect from a beam-formed signal connection to thewireless networking device. For example, the wireless networking devicecan analyze the prioritized list of user devices, and select the userdevice that is currently connected using a beam-formed signal connectionand has the lowest priority relative to the other user devices usingbeam-formed signal connections. In turn, at block 904, the wirelessnetworking device disconnects the first user device from the beam-formedsignal connection. To achieve this, some embodiments send aDEAUTHentication (DEAUTH) message to the first user device to indicatethat a beam-formed signal connection service with the wirelessnetworking device is no longer authorized and/or supported.

Optionally, at block 906, the wireless networking device reconnects tothe first user device using an omnidirectional signal. In someembodiments, the first user device disables its beamforming capabilitiesand/or changes its operating state in order to connect to the wirelessnetworking device via an omnidirectional signal. Alternately oradditionally, the wireless networking device transmits a beacon over theomnidirectional signal it advertise its presence (over anomnidirectional signal connection) to the first user device.

At block 908, the wireless networking device connects to a second userdevice using a beam-formed signal connection. In some embodiments, thewireless networking device first disconnects the second user device froman omnidirectional signal connection, such as by transmitting a DEAUTHmessage to the second user device to indicate that the omnidirectionalsignal connection is no longer authorized. After disconnecting thesecond user device from the omnidirectional signal connection, thewireless networking device then reconnects with the second user devicevia a new beam-formed signal connection. Alternately or additionally thewireless networking device forms a new beam-formed signal connection tothe second user device if the second user device is new to the wirelessnetwork supported by the wireless networking device.

By being able to dynamic configure its connectivity configuration, awireless networking device can initiate changes to more optimally takeadvantage of its data throughput as its operating environment changes.For instance, the wireless networking device has visibility into whichuser devices are available, what connection capacity each user devicehas (e.g., beamforming connection capabilities and/or omnipresentconnection capabilities), what data requests each user device may berunning (e.g., WMM classifications), how well each user device receivesdata, and so forth. Based upon these various types of metrics, thewireless networking device can dynamically determine an optimalconnectivity configuration that may best utilize its resources (e.g.,data throughput), and dynamically initiate any changes to theconnectivity configuration.

Having considered a discussion of dynamic connectivity configuration ofa wireless networking device in accordance with one or more embodiments,consider now a discussion of a user device initiating connectivityconfiguration changes in accordance with one or more embodiments.

User Device Initiated Connectivity Configuration Changes

As further described herein, a wireless networking device has visibilityinto the various user devices associated with, and/or connected to, thewireless networking device. Based upon this global view, the wirelessnetworking device can initiate changes to the various user devices tooptimize its connectivity configuration to better utilize its availableresources. For instance, by using beamforming and focusing more signalenergy to a particular receiving device, the wireless networking devicecan improve a corresponding SNR, and subsequently increase or improvethe transmitted data rates to that particular received device. Bymonitoring and analyzing the various metrics of the associated userdevices and/or a corresponding operating environment, the wirelessnetworking device can choose which user devices to communicate with viabeamforming. However, the wireless networking device may not havevisibility into the needs of the user device. In other words, thewireless networking device may establish a beam-formed signal connectionwith the user device, but the user device may have other preferencesthat drive its connectivity configuration.

Various embodiments provide connectivity configuration changes initiatedby a user device. A user device determines its current connectivityconfiguration, such as whether the user device is currently connected toa wireless networking device and, if connected, what type of wirelessconnection type is being used. Upon determining its current connectivityconfiguration, the user device identifies one or more metrics associatedwith an operating environment and/or operating state of the user device,and analyzes the metrics with respect to the current connectivityconfiguration. For example, the user device can prioritize and/or weightthe metrics according to default prioritization and/or user preferencesas further described herein. In turn, the user device uses theprioritization and/or weighting of the metrics to identify changes tothe current connectivity configuration of the user device, such as achange in a connection type to the wireless networking device, andsubsequently make these modifications.

Consider an example in which a user device communicates with a wirelessnetworking device using beamforming techniques. While these techniquesprovide the user device with additional data bandwidth, it comes at thetradeoff of faster battery drain relative to omnidirectional-basedwireless communications. Subsequently, during these communications, theuser device's battery level can transition from being above a predefinedthreshold level to being below the predefined threshold level. Topreserve battery life, some embodiments of the user device initiate achange from a beam-formed signal connection with the wireless networkingdevice to an omnidirectional signal connection as further describedherein. For instance, the user device can transmitting a SpatialMultiplexing Power Save (SMPS) frame to the wireless networking devicewith a configuration that indicates the desired connection type and/ordesired configuration, such as disabling a beam-formed signalconnection. While discussed in the context of a battery level, the userdevice can identify and/or use other metrics as well.

To illustrate, consider another scenario in which the user deviceinitiates a connection to the wireless networking device, such as duringpower up, moving within working range of the wireless networking device,after enabling Wi-Fi capabilities on the user device, and so forth. Aspart of the connection process, the user device can analyze variousmetrics, such as its RSSI, its battery level, data utilizationassociated with an application that has the current focus of theprocessor (and its corresponding WMM priority), and so forth. In turn,the user device can prioritize and/or weight each of these metrics asfurther described herein. Upon prioritizing the metrics, the user devicecan then determine a start-up connection type or mode that aligns bestwith the priorities of the user device relative to other connectiontypes, and request this connection type when connecting to the wirelessnetworking device. For instance, some embodiments configure or modifythe Transmit Beamforming (TxBF) field in the associated connectionrequest to reflect the connection type that best matches the userdevice's priorities. Thus, the user device can request a beam-formedsignal connection, or disable beamforming, during the connection processto a wireless networking device.

When analyzing metrics, some embodiments prioritize and/or weight thevarious metrics to give more preference or significance when selecting aconnection type for the user device. As an example, the user device caninclude default priorities that give more significance to metrics and/orconnection types that preserve battery life relative to metrics and/orconnection types that improve data throughput. In such an instance, theuser device assigns a higher priority and or weighting to a batterylevel metric relative to a WMM voice data metric. Since the batterylevel is given higher priority than WMM voice data, the user device mayinitiate a change from using (or requesting) a beam-formed signalconnection with a wireless networking device to using an omnidirectionalsignal connection with the wireless networking device. While thisexample is described in the context of comparing one weighted metric toanother (e.g., battery level compared to WMM priority), some embodimentsweight, combine, and/or analyze multiple metrics to determine when toinitiate changes to the connectivity configuration.

A user device can also include user preferences that indicate prioritiesor weightings to assign to the various metrics. For example, a user mayprefer data throughput to preserving battery life when conducing a voiceor video call. In such an instance, the user can override defaultpriorities and/or customize priorities to weight battery level metricslower when conducting the voice or video call. The user can entercustomized priorities in any suitable manner, such as through a userinterface that allows a user to enter and save user preferences, ineither a single user profile, or multiple user profiles. Thus, the usercan enter customized priorities based upon a location, which wirelessnetworking device is associated with the user device, which applicationsare running, and so for. To illustrate, a user device can have a firstset of customized priorities when connecting with a home networkingdevice, a second set of customized priorities when connecting with awork networking device, a third set of customized priorities forconnecting with a public networking device, and so forth. Then, as theuser device moves from location to location, it first identifies whichlocation it is at (such as through the use of Global Positioning System(GPS) information, which wireless networking device it is currentlywithin working range of, etc.), and subsequently obtain thecorresponding user preferences for that location (e.g., location-baseduser preferences).

While a user device can use location metrics, active application metricsdata utilization metrics, and/or battery level metrics to determine itscorresponding connectivity configuration with a wireless networkingdevice, other metrics are available as well. For instance, considerRSSI. A user device can use RSSI to identify when it is operating in ashort-range region, a mid-range region, or a long-range region relativeto corresponding wireless networking device as further described herein.In turn, the user device can determine when to switch from a beam-formedsignal connection, or to a beam-formed signal connection, based upon acorresponding RSSI. Alternately or additionally, the user device canbase reconfiguring its connectivity connection based PER and/or BER. Asanother example, the user device can request a beam-formed signalconnection to the user device after identifying that the correspondingenvironment includes a lot of residual RF noise, such as RF noise fromneighboring wireless networking devices and/or user devices. In such aninstance, the user device can identify when a change in its RFenvironment has occurred, such as by identifying when the RF noise itits environment has exceeded a predefined threshold, and subsequentlyrequest a beam-formed signal connection to reduce additional RF noise inthe environment and boost its received signal strength.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example method 1000 that dynamically reconfiguresthe connectivity configuration of a user device in accordance with oneor more embodiments. Generally, any services, components, modules,methods, and/or operations described herein can be implemented usingsoftware, firmware, hardware (e.g., fixed logic circuitry), manualprocessing, or any combination thereof. For instance, method 1000 can beperformed by user connectivity management module 114 of FIG. 1. Someoperations of the example methods may be described in the generalcontext of executable instructions stored on computer-readable storagememory that is local and/or remote to a computer processing system, andimplementations can include software applications, programs, functions,and the like. Alternately or in addition, any of the functionalitydescribed herein can be performed, at least in part, by any combinationof hardware, software and/or firmware. While method 1000 illustratessteps in a particular order, it is to be appreciated that any specificorder or hierarchy of the steps described here is used to illustrate anexample of a sample approach. Other approaches may be used thatrearrange the ordering of these steps. Thus, the order steps describedhere may be rearranged, and the illustrated ordering of these steps isnot intended to be limiting.

At block 1002, the user device determines a current connectivityconfiguration of the user device. The current connectivity configurationcan include a single connectivity configuration parameter, or acombination of multiple connectivity configuration parameters, such asWi-Fi enablement, type of connection to a wireless networking device,and so forth. As an example of multiple configuration parameters, theuser device can first determine whether the user device has Wi-Fifunctionality enabled and, if the Wi-Fi functionality is enabled,whether is connected to the wireless networking device or not.Alternately or additionally, the user device can identify whether theuser device is connected to the wireless networking device using abeam-formed signal connection or an omnidirectional signal connection.

Responsive to determining the current connectivity configuration, theuser device analyzes one or more metrics associated with the user deviceat block 1004. For instance, some embodiments analyze an RSSI value(associated with a communication channel between the user device andwireless networking device) by comparing it to a predefined RSSIthreshold (regardless of whether the user device is already connected,or is about to connect, to the wireless networking device). Any suitablenumber can be used for the predefined RSSI threshold, such as −75decibels (dB). Alternately or additionally, the user device can analyzea currently battery level by comparing it to a predefined battery levelthreshold, such as how much battery life is left (e.g., 15% battery lifeleft, 20% battery life left, 10% battery life left, etc.). However, anyother suitably types of metrics can be analyzed, such as whatapplications are currently running on the user device, what theirrespective WMM priorities are, what type of RF environment the userdevice is operating in, and so forth. As part of the analyzing, someembodiments apply a respective weighting to each metric and/orprioritize the metrics, such as by using a default prioritization or auser-defined prioritization as further described herein. In someembodiments, the analysis includes comparing the current connectivityconfiguration and/or metrics based upon and/or applying user preferencesas further described herein. In some embodiments, as part of itsanalysis of the various metrics, the user device identifies itsoperating region in relation to a corresponding wireless networkingdevice (e.g., short-range operating region, mid-range operating region,long-range operating region), and bases its connectivity configurationon a corresponding operating region as further described herein.

At block 1006, the user device determines whether to change the currentconnectivity configuration based on the analysis. For example, if theRSSI value falls below the predefined RSSI threshold (e.g., the RSSIvalue indicates a weak signal), the user device may determine to changethe current connectivity configuration from a beam-formed signalconnection to a different connection type in order free up resourcesassociated with beamforming techniques for another device. As anotherexample, if the battery life falls below the predetermined batterythreshold, the user device can also determine to change its currentconnectivity configuration from a beam-formed signal connection to adifferent type of connection type in order to save battery life. If theuser device determines that the current connectivity configurationaligns with its current priorities (e.g., no changes are necessary), theuser device uses the current connectivity configuration at block 1008.In turn, the method returns to block 1002 to continue monitoring thecurrent connectivity configuration of the user device to determine whennew changes have occurred. However, if the user device determines tochange the current connectivity configuration, the method proceeds toblock 1010.

At block 1010, the user device reconfigures and/or initiates changes tothe current connectivity based on the analysis. For instance, the userdevice can dynamically modify its connection type to the wirelessnetworking device by updating the fields an SMPS message to reflect theconnection type change, and then transmitting an SMPS message to thewireless networking device. This allows the user device to respond tooperating changes in its environment by modifying its connection type.As another example, when beginning a connection process to the wirelessnetworking device, the user device can dynamically request a connectiontype in the TxBF field of the corresponding connection request.Responsive to reconfiguring the current connectivity, the method returnsto block 1002 to continue monitoring the current connectivityconfiguration of the user device to identify when changes have occurred.

By dynamically initiating changes to its connectivity configuration to awireless networking device, a user device can dynamically preserve itsresources during operation. This allows the user device to determinewhich connection type into a wireless networking device best suits itscurrent operating state as the operating state changes, and makemodifications dynamically in response to these changes. For instance,the user device can determine, as the focus of the current applicationchanges, that it does not need the high bandwidth as provided by abeam-formed signal connection. In turn, the user device can request anomnidirectional signal connection to allow other user devices to benefitfrom a beam-formed signal connection. In a similar manner, the userdevice can preserve its battery life by switching from a beam-formedsignal connection to an omnidirectional signal. Alternately oradditionally, the user device can identify when a beam-formed connectionwould better serve its current operating state, and respond accordingly.

Having considered a discussion of a user device dynamically initiatingchanges to a corresponding connectivity configuration to a wirelessnetworking device in accordance with one or more embodiments, considernow example computing devices that can implement the various embodimentsdescribed above.

Example Devices

FIG. 11 illustrates various components of an example device 1100 inwhich dynamic connectivity configuration of a wireless networking devicecan be implemented, while FIG. 12 illustrates various components of anexample device 1200 in which user device-initiated connectivityconfiguration can be implemented. In some embodiments, electronic device1100 and electronic device 1200 have at least some similar components.Accordingly, for the purposes of brevity, FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 will bedescribed together. Similar components associated with FIG. 11 will beidentified as components having a naming convention of “11XX”, whilecomponents associated with FIG. 12 will be identified as componentshaving a naming convention of “12XX”. Conversely, components distinct toeach device will be described separately and after the similarcomponents. Electronic device 1100 and electronic device 1200 can be, orinclude, many different types of devices capable of implementing dynamicconnectivity configuration of a wireless networking device and/or userdevice-initiated connectivity configuration in accordance with one ormore embodiments.

Electronic device 1100/electronic device 1200 includes communicationtransceivers 1102/communication transceivers 1202 that enable wired orwireless communication of device data 1104/device data 1204, such asreceived data and transmitted data. While referred to as a transceiver,it is to be appreciated that communication transceivers1102/communication transceivers 1202 can additionally include multipleantennas that can be configured differently from one another, or work inconcert to generate beam-formed signals. For example, a first antennacan transmit/receive omnidirectional signals, and subsequent antennastransmit/receive beam-formed signals. Example communication transceiversinclude Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) radios compliant withvarious Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15(Bluetooth™) standards, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) radioscompliant with any of the various IEEE 802.11 (WiFi™) standards,Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) radios for cellular telephony(3GPP-compliant), wireless metropolitan area network radios compliantwith various IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX™) standards, and wired Local AreaNetwork (LAN) Ethernet transceivers.

Electronic device 1100/electronic device 1200 may also include one ormore data input ports 1106/data input ports 1206 via which any type ofdata, media content, and/or inputs can be received, such asuser-selectable inputs to the device, messages, music, televisioncontent, recorded content, and any other type of audio, video, and/orimage data received from any content and/or data source. The data inputports may include Universal Serial Bus (USB ports), coaxial cable ports,and other serial or parallel connectors (including internal connectors)for flash memory, Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs), Compact Discs (CDs),and the like. These data input ports may be used to couple the device toany type of components, peripherals, or accessories such as microphones,cameras, and/or modular attachments.

Electronic device 1100/electronic device 1200 includes a processingsystem 1108/processing system 1208 of one or more processors (e.g., anyof microprocessors, controllers, and the like) and/or a processor andmemory system implemented as a system-on-chip (SoC) that processescomputer-executable instructions. The processor system may beimplemented at least partially in hardware, which can include componentsof an integrated circuit or on-chip system, an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), acomplex programmable logic device (CPLD), and other implementations insilicon and/or other hardware. Alternatively, or in addition, the devicecan be implemented with any one or combination of software, hardware,firmware, or fixed logic circuitry that is implemented in connectionwith processing and control circuits, which are generally identified asprocessing and control 1110/processing and control 1210. Electronicdevice 1100/electronic device 1200 may further include any type of asystem bus or other data and command transfer system that couples thevarious components within the device. A system bus can include any oneor combination of different bus structures and architectures, as well ascontrol and data lines.

Electronic device 1100/electronic device 1200 also includescomputer-readable storage memory or memory devices 1112/memory devices1212 that enable data storage, such as data storage devices that can beaccessed by a computing device, and that provide persistent storage ofdata and executable instructions (e.g., software applications, programs,functions, and the like). Examples of the computer-readable storagememory or memory devices 1112/memory devices 1212 include volatilememory and non-volatile memory, fixed and removable media devices, andany suitable memory device or electronic data storage that maintainsdata for computing device access. The computer-readable storage memorycan include various implementations of random access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, and other types of storage mediain various memory device configurations. Electronic device1100/electronic device 1200 may also include a mass storage mediadevice.

The computer-readable storage memory provides data storage mechanisms tostore the device data 1104/device data 1204, other types of informationand/or data, and various device applications 1114/device applications1214 (e.g., software applications). For example, an operating system1116/operating system 1216 can be maintained as software instructionswith a memory device and executed by the processing system1108/processing system 1208. The device applications may also include adevice manager, such as any form of a control application, softwareapplication, signal-processing and control module, code that is nativeto a particular device, a hardware abstraction layer for a particulardevice, and so on. Electronic device 1100 includes network connectivitymanagement module 1118, while electronic device 1200 includes userconnectivity management module 1218.

Network connectivity management module 1118 manages the connectivityconfiguration of electronic device 1100. For instance, networkconnectivity management module 1118 determines which user devicesconnect to electronic device 1100 using beam-formed signal connections,and which user devices connect to electronic device 1100 usingomnidirectional signal connections. In turn, network connectivitymanagement module 1118 can manage various aspects of communicationtransceiver(s) 1102 to direct which communication signals aretransmitted to which user devices. Some embodiments of networkconnectivity management module 1118 dynamically prioritize various userdevices to identify which user devices would better utilize abeam-formed signal connection relative to other user devices. Networkconnectivity management module 1118 can then analyze a currentconnectivity configuration of electronic device 1100 to determine if itmatches and/or aligns with the prioritized list of user devices. If thecurrent connectivity configuration differs from the prioritized list ofuser devices, some embodiments of network connectivity management module1118 initiate and/or dynamically reconfigure individual wirelessconnections of selected user devices to align the current connectivityconfiguration with the prioritized.

User connectivity management module 1218 manages the connectivityconfiguration of electronic device 1200. User connectivity managementmodule 1218 can analyze various metrics associated with electronicdevice 1200, and determine whether to dynamically reconfigure itsconnectivity configuration as further described herein.

Electronic device 1200 also includes an audio and/or video processingsystem 1220 that generates audio data for an audio system 1222 and/orgenerates display data for a display system 1224.

The audio system 1222 and/or the display system 1224 may include anydevices that process, display, and/or otherwise render audio, video,display, and/or image data. Display data and audio signals can becommunicated to an audio component and/or to a display component via anRF link, S-video link, HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface),composite video link, component video link, DVI (digital videointerface), analog audio connection, or other similar communicationlink, such as media data port 1226. In implementations, the audio systemand/or the display system are integrated components of the exampledevice. Alternatively, the audio system and/or the display system areexternal, peripheral components to the example device.

CONCLUSION

Various embodiments provide a user device that dynamically initiates achange to its connectivity configuration. Some embodiments of the userdevice determine its current connectivity configuration and, based uponits current connectivity configuration, obtains one or more metricsassociated with its current operating environment and/or currentoperating configuration. In turn, the user devices analyzes the metricsto determine whether to alter its current connectivity configuration.Responsive to the analysis, some embodiments modify the currentconnectivity configuration by modifying a connection type to a wirelessnetworking device.

Although various aspects of dynamic connectivity reconfiguration havebeen described in language specific to features and/or methods, thesubject of the appended claims is not necessarily limited to thespecific features or methods described. Rather, the specific featuresand methods are disclosed as example implementations, and otherequivalent features and methods are intended to be within the scope ofthe appended claims. Further, various different embodiments aredescribed and it is to be appreciated that each described embodiment canbe implemented independently or in connection with one or more otherdescribed embodiments.

We claim:
 1. A user device comprising: one or more processors; andcomputer-readable storage devices comprising processor-executableinstructions which, responsive to execution by the one or moreprocessors, enable the user device to perform operations comprising:determining a current connectivity configuration associated with theuser device and a wireless networking device; analyzing one or moremetrics associated with the user device; determining, based, at least inpart, on said analyzing the one or more metrics, whether to change thecurrent connectivity configuration of the user device; and responsive toan additional user device that has a beam-formed signal connection withthe wireless networking device being disconnected from the wirelessnetworking device and determining to change the current connectivityconfiguration, reconfiguring, with the user device, the currentconnectivity configuration by changing a connection type associated withthe user device and the wireless networking device to include thebeam-formed signal connection.
 2. The user device as recited in claim 1,wherein said determining the current connectivity configurationcomprises determining whether the user device has Wireless Local AreaNetwork (Wi-Fi) functionality enabled.
 3. The user device as recited inclaim 2 further comprising: responsive to determining that the userdevice has Wi-Fi functionality enabled, determining whether the userdevice is connected to the wireless networking device.
 4. The userdevice as recited in claim 1, wherein said analyzing the one or moremetrics further comprises comparing the one or more metrics to arespective predefined threshold, the one or more metrics comprising atleast one of: a round-trip-time (RTT) metric; a Bit Error Rate (BER)metric; a Packet Error Rate (PER) metric; or a Received Signal StrengthIndicator (RSSI) metric.
 5. The user device as recited in claim 1,wherein said reconfiguring the current connectivity configurationfurther comprises: determining the user device is currently connected tothe wireless networking device via the beam-formed signal connection;and transmitting a Spatial Multiplexing Power Save (SMPS) frame to thewireless networking device with a configuration that indicates todisable the beam-formed signal connection.
 6. The user device as recitedin claim 1, wherein said analyzing one or more metrics furthercomprises: identifying location-based user preferences associated withthe one or more metrics to prioritize the one or more metrics; andapplying the location-based user preferences to the one or more metricsduring said analyzing.
 7. The user device as recited in claim 1, whereinsaid analyzing the one or more metrics further comprises weighting eachmetric of the one or more metrics.
 8. The user device as recited inclaim 7, wherein said weighting each metric further comprises weightingeach metric based upon a location associated with the user device.
 9. Acomputer-implemented method comprising: determining, using a userdevice, a connectivity configuration associated with the user device bydetermining a connection type associated with a wireless communicationlink between the user device and a wireless networking device; analyzingan operating state associated with the user device to determine whetherto change the connection type; responsive to determining to change theconnection type, starting a timer; responsive to expiration of thetimer, verifying the operating state has not changed; and responsive tothe verifying, dynamically reconfiguring the connectivity configurationto modify how the user device communicates with the wireless networkingdevice by changing the connection type.
 10. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 9, wherein said analyzing the operating state furthercomprises identifying a battery level associated with the user devicehas dropped below a predefined threshold.
 11. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 9, wherein said changing the connection type furthercomprises changing the connection type from a beam-formed signalconnection to an omnidirectional signal connection.
 12. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein said analyzing theoperating state further comprises identifying a change in datautilization associated with the user device.
 13. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein said analyzing theoperating state further comprises identifying a change in an associatedradio frequency (RF) environment.
 14. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 13, wherein said dynamically initiating the change to theconnection type further comprises changing the connection type to abeam-formed signal connection.
 15. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 9, wherein said dynamically initiating the change to theconnection type further comprises: modifying a Transmit Beamforming(TxBF) field in a connection request to the wireless networking deviceto reflect the change in the connection type; and transmitting theconnection request to the wireless networking device.
 16. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 9 further comprising: identifying alocation associated with the user device; obtaining user preferencesassociated with the location; and performing said analyzing based, atleast in part, on the user preferences.
 17. A user device comprising:one or more processors; and computer-readable storage devices comprisingprocessor-executable instructions which, responsive to execution by theone or more processors, enable the user device to perform operationscomprising: determining, with the user device, a connectivityconfiguration associated with the user device by identifying aconnection type associated with a wireless communication link betweenthe user device and a wireless networking device; determining whether tochange the connection type by analyzing an operating state associatedwith the user device, the analyzing including determining whether theuser device is operating in a mid-range operating region relative to thewireless networking device, the mid-range operating region beingprioritized higher than a short-range operating region and a long-rangeoperating region; and responsive to determining to change the connectiontype, modifying the connection by sending one or more messages to thewireless networking device to dynamically reconfigure the wirelesscommunication link.
 18. The user device as recited in claim 17, whereinsaid determining whether to change the connection type is based, atleast in part, on: identifying if the user device is currently connectedto the wireless networking device; identifying the connection typeassociated with the communication link; identifying a battery levelassociated with the user device; identifying a Received Signal StrengthIndicator (RSSI) value associated with the communication link; andidentifying a data utilization associated with a current applicationwith priority on the user device.
 19. The user device as recited inclaim 18, wherein said determining whether to change the connection typefurther comprises: determining that the battery level has dropped belowa predefined battery level threshold; determining that the datautilization has a Wireless MultiMedia (WMM) prioritization associatedwith VOice (VO) data; and prioritizing a connection type associated withthe battery level over a connection type associated with the datautilization.
 20. The user device as recited in claim 17, wherein saiddetermining whether to change the connection type further comprisesdetermining an amount of interference from an overlapping beam of anadditional wireless networking device.